The Federal Reserve closed the discount window to banks on the verge of collapse, according to analysis of Fed documents. The data showed that only 11 of the 201 banks that collapsed between February 2008 and March 2010 had outstanding loans from the Fed, a finding that has surprised some observers. William Nelson, deputy director of the Fed’s Division of Monetary Affairs, said, "The discount window is not there to help a troubled institution prolong its inevitable failure."

Click here to read the story from The Wall Street Journal.